Alaska Just Nullified Unconstitutional Gun Control Laws

The 49th state to join the Union has become the second to successfully traverse the perilous waters of nullification. In a sweeping reform, the state of Alaska has deemed that rights of the citizenry guaranteed under the state and national constitutions will no longer be ignored or side-stepped by an over-zealous federal government.

Utilizing the Tenth Amendment — which protects the rights of states to do whatever the federal government can’t do — Alaska has completely cut funding to a number of unconstitutional and illegal federal programs, including programs that violate the Second Amendment. This means enforcing those laws in Alaska is now essentially impossible.

Utilizing the Tenth Amendment, which articulates that states withhold any rights not exclusively mentioned in the constitution, Alaska has opted to effectively neutralize a number of arguably tyrannical federal mandates. House Bill 69 offers a number of protections to the citizens of Alaska within the realm of the second amendment. It also offers protection against the federal government’s power to indefinitely detain citizens.

“Prohibiting state and municipal agencies from using assets to implement or aid in the implementation of the requirements of certain federal statutes, regulations, rules, and orders that are applied to infringe on a person’s right to bear arms or right to due process or that implement or aid in the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005; exempting certain firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition in this state from federal regulation;declaring certain federal statutes, regulations, rules, and orders unconstitutional under the Constitution of the United States and unenforceable in this state; requiring the attorney general to file any legal action to prevent implementation of a federal statute, regulation, rule, or order that violates the rights of a resident of the state; and providing for an effective date.”

The new law nullifies indefinite detention, gun laws, and parts of the REAL ID Act. This is a huge win for the constitution.

It can be called sad that the residents of the state need to receive this extra note of protection against the federal government. Supposedly, the government was created to preserve certain ideals; ideals concretely written within the constitution and legal norms of the United States.

Unfortunately, recent events have been demonstrating that the government’s ineptitude may be as damning as its ability to intentionally cast a blind eye. When the rights of the citizenry are ignored, deliberately or otherwise, it falls to the states to act as the last vanguards of guaranteed freedom.

How HB69 works is by refusing to appropriate any municipal, states, or federal funds that can go towards limiting one’s second amendment rights or that can be used for indefinite detention. It also calls on the attorney general to keep a wary eye out for unconstitutional provisions and laws.

The law was passed by Alaskan Governor Sean Parnell and is arguably the most sweeping reform issued by the state to date.

The federal government depends on state resources to enforce its laws. By pulling the rug out from under the feds, and denying state and local assistance to federal agents, Alaska effectively nullified indefinite detention, along with unconstitutional federal firearms regulations. (You can read an in-depth analysis of the Second Amendment protections offered by HB69 HERE.)